Back in Sydney

We returned from Gerroa Beach this afternoon.  It was not all vacation though the photos may suggest otherwise.  Over the time we spent mornings in prayer, Mass and conferences during which we began to get to know each other by sharing our "outer" stories, the basic facts of our lives and then began sharing our "inner" stories, more difficult discussions of light and shadow, consolation and desolation.    We are coming together as a group of tertians.  It is obvious that we trust each other.  The stories were at times painful to share and difficult but it was safe.  


Over the next days I am going to post daily with multiple photos.  John and I went berserk with our cameras.  Below are photos from the first few days.  


The first is from Sublime Point, an overlook about one hour north of our destination of Gerroa.  

The one below is from Nan Tien (Southern Sky) Buddhist Temple, a temple founded by monks from Taiwan.  It is beautiful in a superb setting.  Took many photos there. 

I hate to do this to those of you in the Northeastern U.S.  This is the view of Seven Mile Beach National Park from the house at sunset as the tide was going out.  One of the other men, Michael and I would walk the beach for an hour every night after dark.  No flashlight necessary.  Amazing sky.

I have no idea why this one moved.  This is the view of Seven Mile Beach from the side door to the house.  Note the "Crooked River" entering the ocean off to the right.  We had to walk a bit on the road to access a bridge across the river.  Tough life. 














Below is Seven Mile Beach and the river on a Sunday morning.  The sun in Oz is intense.  Most people get off the beach by noon.  The TV commercials warning about the risk of melanoma with prolonged sun exposure are dramatic here.   I don't know why but the colors are terrifically vibrant down here. 

Now I know how to move photos.  This is "Jesuit Beach" directly in front of the house.  There are almost no private beaches in Australia.  All we had to do to access this part was walk down a set of steps.  Note, I did not retouch the color in this photo or any of the others, except the b&w one.  This is how the colors came out in the camera.

"The sun has gone to bed and so must I."  Today was a long one.  Up early to walk on the beach at 5:30 AM to take photos (coming later), clean the house, pack the cars and ride back.  This was sunset our first night at Gerroa.  We all wanted to have the long retreat here but that isn't going to happen.  The only problem was no tripod.  Three of us may return for a weekend some time later in the year on a photographic journey.  


More photos tomorrow.